Multiple outlets are reporting Tuesday night that Celtics' captain Paul Pierce has notified the team he will opt out of his $21.5 million contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer. More on this story as it develops.

James Shields couldn't record an out in the sixth inning as the Red Sox hit him hard and often in an 8-5 Sox victory following an interleague road trip. David Ortiz launched a three-run shot off of Shields in the fifth, his 17th homer of the year, and Bill Hall added round-tripper of his own against Andy Sonnanstine in the seventh.

Ortiz led the Sox with three RBI in the game, with Hall and Varitek each contributing two. Adrian Beltre had a 4-for-4 night with two doubles and scored twice. Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew were the only Red Sox starters to not get a hit, though Drew reached base twice due to Shields walking and hitting him. All Sox starters scored at least one run with the exception of Daniel Nava and Varitek. Carl Crawford went 4-for-5 with a double, a run, and a stolen base for the Rays in the loss and Willy Aybar had a pinch-hit homer off Hideki Okajima in the eighth.

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said that outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is making steady progress in his return to baseball activities while rehabbing the hairline fracture of a rib at Athletes' Performance in Arizona. There is still no timetable for the outfielder to return, but Epstein did suggest that the 26-year-old is gettting "closer and closer" to the sort of intensive activities that will serve as a prelude to baseball activities.

"He’s making progress every day. His symptoms are subsiding slowly but surely. I think that’s a really important element of this because he can’t start baseball activities until the symptoms are much less than when they last saw him. He’s making progress," said Epstein. "There’s no definitive timetable on it, but I think we’re getting closer and closer to the time that we’ll see him ramp up his physical activities, then get to baseball...

Gustavo Molina, the 28-year-old catcher the Red Sox activated after putting Victor Martinez on the 15-day disabled list with a broken finger, said he is ready to catch Tim Wakefield in the knuckleballer's next start, Friday night. Molina caught Wakefield's side session in the Red Sox' bullpen Tuesday afternoon, having also experienced catching Wakefield in "a few" side sessions during spring training.

"It's kind of a challenge," Molina said. "I'll be ready for the next start."

Molina does have prior experience catching a knuckleball, having caught Charlie Haeger for two seasons in the minor leagues while in the Chicago White Sox' organization.

Dickerson and Price discuss the RB position and who will get a majority of the workload. They also talk about missing Revis and the CB position. The boys also get into more Deflategate discussions with callers.

Dickerson and Price are live from Fenway today and kick off NFL Sunday discussing some of the events at Pats training camp this week. Then they get into the court battle between Brady and Goodell and where we go from here? The guys give their predictions on just how many games Brady will in fact sit out. They get into the Chris Mortenson situation after he backed out of the D&C interview. Finally, Trags (Mike Petraglia) of WEEI.com joins the boys live from training camp.

How long will this rebuild take? How much money will it take to keep Bae Crowder? Are Draft Picks even worth anything? With the Danny Ainge not landing any big names in the draft, and unable to lure any big names in free agency, Sam and Ben discussed if the Celtics are doomed moving forward.

Joe and Dave are joined by Pedro who was at the game and had his number 45 retired by the Red Sox in a very touching pregame ceremony. Pedro talks about going into the Hall of Fame, his time in Boston and love for the game of baseball.

The awesomely knowledgeable Fluto Shinzawa calls DJ, Naoko and Pete to talk about his thoughts on the future of the B's. He discusses his column from earlier this week on Cam Neely wanting to give Claude the ax earlier in the season but not getting the ok. Fluto shares his thoughts on Chiarelli's firing, the future for Claude and where the Bruins should go from here. He also gives his opinion on potential moves the team can make, who would fit in here, his thoughts on the NHL playoffs so far and more.

In the final hour of the "midseason finale" as DJ likes to call it, the crew discuss more about the future of the Bruins franchise, the possible power struggle in the front office and who should be the head coach going forward. They talk to intelligent and talented Fluto Shinzawa about all of these thing and more in an excellent interview, and finally, DJ says THANK YOU!

Intern extraordinaire Lucy joins Jerry once again to discuss the most vexing questions in the history of mankind: can men and women coexist? What are the differences between how men and women think? And how mean can women really be?

If you play Fantasy Football then you know there are several “Elephants in the Room!” And nobody is talking about them. Are they afraid? We’re not! The Dallas Running game, Leveon Bell, Demarco Murray & Ryan Matthews in the Philly backfield, the Saints offense and so much more. Right here, WEEI’s own Jim Hackett and Pete Davidson cover all of the main “Elephants in the Room” to help you get the edge for your upcoming drafts. Enjoy!